Knitted Art By Nicole Gastonguay

There are three basic types of knitting needles (also called "knitting pins"). The first and most common type consists of two slender, straight sticks tapered to a point at one end, and with a knob at the other end to prevent stitches from slipping off. Such needles are usually 10-16 inches long but, due to the compressibility of knitted fabrics, may be used to knit pieces significantly wider. The most important property of needles is their diameter, which ranges from below 2 mm to 25 mm (roughly 1 inch). The diameter affects the size of stitches, which affects the gauge of the knitting and the elasticity of the fabric. Thus, a simple way to change gauge is to use different needles, which is the basis of uneven knitting. Although knitting needle diameter is often measured in millimeters, there are several different size systems, particularly those specific to the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan; a conversion table is given at knitting needle. Such knitting needles may be made out of any materials, but the most common materials are metals, wood, bamboo, and plastic. Different materials have different frictions and grip the yarn differently; slick needles such as metallic needles are useful for swift knitting, whereas rougher needles such as bamboo are less prone to dropping stitches. The knitting of new stitches occurs only at the tapered ends, and needles with lighted tips have been sold to allow knitters to knit in the dark.
The second type of knitting needles are straight, double-pointed knitting needles (also called "dpns"). Double-pointed needles are tapered at both ends, which allows them to be knit from either end. Dpns are typically used for circular knitting, especially smaller tube-shaped pieces such as sleeves, collars, and socks; usually one needle is active while the others hold the remaining active stitches. Dpns are somewhat shorter (typically 7 inches) and are usually sold in sets of four or five.
Cable needles are a special case of dpns, although they usually are not straight, but dimpled in the middle. Cable needles are typically very short (a few inches), and are used to hold stitches temporarily while others are being knitted. Cable patterns are made by permuting the order of stitches; although one or two stitches may be held by hand or knit out of order, cables of three or more generally require a cable needle.